I’m currently sitting at the kitchen table eating. in front of me is my replica roman lamp that i like to use just because it’s cozy. every time i use it i think the same thing,,, HOW does the fire stay at the tip of the wick?? i understand the oil largely keeps it from burning the wick itself, but still,,, if the vegetable oil is the fuel,,, why doesn’t the fire spread anyway?? shouldn’t it spread down the wick and into the oil container part?? is it because heat rises and the wick is tilted?? would it act different if the lamp held the wick fully horizontally?? and if oiled wicks can’t burn downwards,,, why can matches do it??? is it the constant flow of new oil to the tip??
In: Chemistry
Because it’s not the liquid oil that’s burning, but the small aeresolized particles at the end of the wick.
It’s like with gasoline, know what happens if you throw a match into a pool of gasoline? The match goes out. It’s the vapor that burns, not the liquid.
Basically there’s too much liquid for it to burn.
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